USEFUL BEACON. 
199 
fallen trees, in various states of decay, promise well 
for snails, slugs, and fungus-loving beetles. Boleti 
stud their rotting boles, and in these Mycetophagi 
reward our diligent research. Shade of Fabricius ! 
what swarms of insect life ! The ants alone are 
worthy the pen of Nylander; and as for the 
spiders, the erudition of Walckenacr, and the in- 
dustiy of Blackwall, would be needful to portray 
their varied forms, and illustrate their wondrous in- 
stincts. I penetrated a thicket, where bushes, laden 
with bunches of currants, grew all around. While 
feeding on these with the greedy voracity of a school- 
boy, my attention was diverted to a split bamboo, 
with the valve of a Pecten, or scallop-shell, stuck in 
the fissure. A nearer scrutiny assured me this was 
meant as an indication of uxtter ; and lo ! a clear 
pool lay hid among the herbage. Some wandering 
Tartar had been here, and, having slaked his thirst, 
had in gratitude placed this useful beacon. But 
what is that suspended fmin a bough which over- 
hangs the beach ? It is a skull, the skull of a bear, 
for the lower jaw and other bones of the defunct 
